My mother was diagnosed with dementia and then within a few months, Alzheimer's. She passed away 18 months later at age 78.

My mother truly believed that her memory was altered the day she was working in the yard and bumped her head. Within a month, she noticed she had problems remembering dates and names, which she was at pro at. The bump happened about 6 months prior to her being diagnosed.

I want to explain some things in her life to see if other caregivers have seen the same similarities. I think there is a link of something in their lives that started their terrible demise.

My mother grew up in extreme poverty and did not eat properly.

As an adult she would only eat one good meal per day because she was never hungry.

Even though she worked really hard with 10 children, she never exercised regularly.

She colored her hair for almost 50 years.

She rarely read.

She drank a lot of coffee, 10 to 12 cups per day for years and very little water.

Never napped.

Always busy.

Never smoked and rarely drank.

The only surgery she had was her gall bladder removed at age 69.

Her personality was 98 percent happy. A couple times per year she would say, and she didn't know why, that she felt sad and would cry. I would not say depressed, just sad, usually about her children or parents that had died.

The major thing was that bump on her head (which left a huge knot on her head for weeks).

Please list some things that you can remember about your dear loved ones that may have been a factor and who knows, maybe, there is something that we can avoid.